A StarNewsOnline Blog

The emporium for all things literary

UNC Public Television is in pledge-drive mode again, which means that “N.C. Bookwatch,” its literary talk show, is pre-empted from its usual Sunday timeslot next week. At 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 8, though, “Bookwatch” will re-run one of its more interesting recent episodes. Host D.G. Martin will be interviewing best-selling powerhouse John Grisham about his 2017 book “Camino Island.” “Camino Island,” you might recall, marked a departure for Grisham from his tried-and-true legal-thriller formula. This time a young faculty… Read More »

About This Blog

This is an emporium for all things literary: occasional book reviews, local book news, items about authors (mostly from the Cape Fear area but occasional visitors) and miscellaneous rants.

The usual author is Ben Steelman, feature writer and book columnist for the Star-News. He’s that shaggy, slightly smelly character you spot lurking in the back aisles of your local bookstore. Physically, he has more than a passing resemblance to Ignatius J. Reilly, hero of John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces” — some observers have noted other parallels as well.